Minimally Invasive and Endoscopic Techniques in Peripheral Nerve Surgery of the Hand and Forearm

Abstract

Minimally invasive and endoscopic techniques are not new in surgery; in fact, they are well established in many fields, such as general and gynecological surgery. In hand surgery, only the endoscopic operation of the carpal tunnel syndrome has become an established technique. In spite of an initial enthusiastic reception by many hand surgeons, this operation has not marked the beginning of a new “endoscopic” era in hand surgery. A high complication rate and the fact that it is technically demanding and relatively expensive are some of the reasons enthusiasm waned. An alternative for many hand surgeons became minimizing the incision for the open operation, to a point where the size of the incision was not larger than the one needed for the introduction of an endoscope. This minimally invasive technique, however, has become popular only for carpal tunnel release.